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I will stop taking in animals if they stop coming by. But we are not overrun. My only other option for the cats is to get someone who lives near a pound to lie to the pound people and say they found them there and take them to the pound, where they will be put down in 5 days. The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri is great. But they don't have any room. I've talked to any shelter within two hours of here. No luck.
I told you we will attend to the wound if we feel it is necessary to. But it's out of my hands. I'm working to get the strays neutered and spayed. What am I supposed to do with them? Dump them or shoot them like most people around here do? Let them breed uncontrollably? I'm doing what I can. Fact is, there's not much help around here. Nobody will take them.
It's hard to drive the three hours to St. Louis with animals. There's no guarantee they would take them, either. Everybody is overrun. I have called Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, and Farmington shelters and they cannot help me.
You certainly are judging me a lot based on one post when you haven't actually followed the whole story. Trust me, you would not last five minutes where I live. I could show you a lot of cruel things around here. The animal welfare groups are working very hard. But they don't have room for my animals, or anybody's really. I think the one in Cape said they have something like 200 cats right now.
"Why not just take her/him to a shelter instead?" Firstly, she is a pet. She was a stray, until we got her spayed and brought her inside. She has been in fine health since, until this came up. If we think we need to take her to the vet we will. But if we took our pets to the vet for every thing that came up we would have a lot more bills. Most people I know doctor their own animals until they feel the need for vet assistance. My grandpa used to give his dachshund pepto bismol. You can't always afford to take them to the vet for everything.
My sister has dealt with this with her cat. She works basically minimum wage (she has a Bachelor's, but it's not a field of work you make money in) and has one six-year-old cat and one two-year-old dog. She asked a different forum what to do because her cat had worms and she couldn't afford to take him to the vet at that time. She was asking what was the best medicine for him. They told her to give him up for adoption? Really? So only rich people can have pets?
Look, I know you are trying to do the noble thing here. Fact is, you don't know what it's like out here and you don't know what I have to work with.
Sometimes you can't save the world and yes, you shouldn't have animals if you can't afford the basics for them (food, shots, maintenance - dewormers, flea prevention and heartworm prevention). Harsh?!? Maybe but that is the truth. I work with a large Animal Shelter and hear it all. There are resources out there, like those I posted but you have to follow-up constantly with shelters to see when space opens up. It is the responsible thing to do. You don't have to be rich to have pets, you just have to be responsible and take care of their basic needs. Which, at the moment I personally don't see you doing. Your cat gets injured, you take them to the vet plain and simple. They need litter, they need food, they need rabies shots. If you can't provide all of that, they need to be placed in other homes. Feeding stray cats and encouraging them to have litters of kittens because you don't use the resources available is irresponsible. Yes, there are many animals out there that will die. It is horrible that so many have to die just because idiots couldn't spay and neuter their animals. But, there just aren't enough homes. We do what we can to foster a number of cats that we are comfortable with but I know I can't save everyone. As far as I see it, you are hoarding animals. Not as bad as the cases on animal-abuse.com, but if you are taking in animals and not providing sufficient care, that is hoarding and not doing anyone a service. I think you need to realize that you are over your head and seek out help from those organizations so that you can take care of your needs.
One day, you can take care of animals again but I just think you need a break. As it is, you have too many animals without a permit. Is that why you aren't going to the vet? Your animals aren't properly registered?
[SIZE=4]No dog or cat, as defined in Section 10.04.010, shall be permitted within the limits of the City unless such dog or cat is registered and the fee imposed by this chapter is paid, except that transient dogs, as defined herein, are excepted from such certificate for the period stipulated above.[/SIZE]
Moderator cut: can't post whole sections, just 1 or 2 sentences and a link
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 08-27-2010 at 09:50 PM..
One day, you can take care of animals again but I just think you need a break. As it is, you have too many animals without a permit. Is that why you aren't going to the vet? Your animals aren't properly registered?
There's no such thing as permits or registration here. I am spaying the two females because I don't want a bunch more cats running around. The only other option is death at the pound.
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Feeding stray cats and encouraging them to have litters of kittens because you don't use the resources available is irresponsible.
How am I doing that? I didn't encourage them to breed. Trust me, they do that on their own. In fact, I stopped it by spaying the mother and soon spaying the kittens.
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As far as I see it, you are hoarding animals.
I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you are talking about. I'm getting the two female kittens spayed so that we won't have more animals.
You are really judging me and you have no idea what you are talking about.
I think sometimes people are reluctant or afraid to approach animal rescue groups because they are afraid that those who run the groups will accuse them and jump to conclusions when they don't have the facts and they are not in that same situation. I have talked to the rescue groups around here. They are frequently full. It doesn't really matter now, though. We have the money to spay the two females and hopefully no more will come around.
There's no such thing as permits or registration here. I am spaying the two females because I don't want a bunch more cats running around. The only other option is death at the pound.
How am I doing that?
I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you are talking about. I'm getting the two female kittens spayed so that we won't have more animals.
You are really judging me and you have no idea what you are talking about.
Most pet owners would take their animals to the vet when they had an injury, most people who are taking care of stray cats would have taken them to a shelter when they were a lot younger and before they were sexually mature. They wouldn't post pictures on forums asking if people think it is okay...please use common sense. Those kittens you have are getting very close to the age of being able to reproduce. You aren't fixing all of them nor are you using any of the resources I listed that can take care of that. Stray Cats as you say keep stopping by...so stop feeding them! Have Animal Control Capture them. I hope that this is your last group of animals because all animals deserve veterinary care which apparently you don't agree with and are much too proud to call one of your local agencies to ensure that all those kittens are spayed and neutered. Sorry, others are supportive but I have no qualms in telling you that what you are doing is not something I would reward. If I had to sell my computer to be able to send my animals to the vet, I would. I know not all people share that...but that is just my two cents. Which of course you will disagree with and you are free to do that. Not everyone deserves to take care of animals or own them.
Most pet owners would take their animals to the vet when they had an injury, most people who are taking care of stray cats would have taken them to a shelter when they were a lot younger and before they were sexually mature.
I don't think you understand. There are no shelters around here. On top of that, the kittens were two months old before they showed up.
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You aren't fixing all of them nor are you using any of the resources I listed that can take care of that.
You really aren't listening. I am fixing them. I raised the money to fix one of the females and we are covering the costs to fix the other.
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Stray Cats as you say keep stopping by...so stop feeding them! Have Animal Control Capture them.
Animal Control doesn't trap anything. We don't have Animal Control in this county.
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I hope that this is your last group of animals because all animals deserve veterinary care which apparently you don't agree with and are much too proud to call one of your local agencies to ensure that all those kittens are spayed and neutered.
I have emailed and called many groups and have not been able to set anything up. Fact is, the shelters are all full.
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If I had to sell my computer to be able to send my animals to the vet, I would.
Kind of hard to do since it's not my computer and I use it to do half my classes.
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Not everyone deserves to take care of animals or own them.
There are actually a lot of programs in your metro area:
Missouri
Humane Society of Southeast Missouri: Camp Girardeau (spay/neuter assistance) www.semopets.org
Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP): Christian, Dallas, Greene, Lawrence, Polk and Webster Counties (spay/neuter assistance) www.snap123.org
Central Missouri Humane Society: Columbia (spay/neuter assistance) www.cmhspets.org
St. Charles County Humane Services: Cottleville (spay/neuter and heartworm preventative assistance) http://www.scchealth.org/docs/hs/index.html
Northland Pet Pantry: Kansas City Metro Area, Platte and Clay Counties (pet food) http://pcnaws.com/northlandpetpantry.aspx
Spay Neuter Kansas City: Kansas City (pet food and supplies, spay/neuter assistance) www.snkc.net
PAWS Inc.: Raytown (spay/neuter assistance) www.paws-inc.org
Animal Protective Association of Missouri: St. Louis (Assistance with vaccinations and routine veterinary care) www.apamo.org
Humane Society of Missouri: St. Louis (assistance with veterinary care including spay/neuter) www.hsmo.org
Operation SPOT: St. Louis (spay/neuter assistance) http://www.opspot.org
Pound Pals Nooterville: St. Louis (spay/neuter assistance) www.poundpals.org
St. Louis Pet Clinic on Grand: St. Louis (spay/neuter assistance) www.stlpetclinicongrand.com
Stray Rescue of St. Louis: St. Louis (spay/neuter assistance) http://www.strayrescue.org
Please don't take in anymore animals after all of this. The reason we foster is because we can afford to. If we couldn't take care of the strays/fosters and our own animals we wouldn't do it anymore. Those kittens in your other thread are "old" in many ways and not as adoptable as if you had found these organizations beforehand. I am sorry, but I think it is absolutely cruel to allow your cat to have this wound and not have a vet attend to it. It is not your responsibility to get those cats neutered and spayed. Your own animals should always come first. It isn't convenient when our animals get sick or injured but when would it be? Please take that cat to the vet. Call those services I listed above to help you find homes for those cats and then just focus on the animals you own which is hopefully not many. I don't see why you can't convince your parents to take the cat to the vet. Why not just take her/him to a shelter instead? It sounds like your animals are not your parents priority and that makes me sad.
alley, you are new in these boards and haven't been around for the long long story of the op's kitty issues.... she is in a rural area of southeast missouri, and as she states, pets are a very low priority in areas such as this one..... it is a TOTALLY different mindset than you will find in the more urban or suburban areas, particularly those NOT in the more southern states...... she is doing the best she can with the resources she has available to her....
the op could be like many of the other people in her area and just ignore the cats or shoo them off or worse, but she has a kind heart and does what she can to ease their lives..... being a foster, you have the choice to accept or decline an animal.... the op has them wandering into her yard and setting up residence..... most likely dumped by someone who didn't want to deal with the hassle of a pregnant cat.....
if you foster, then you know what it is like in the shelters these days.... they are all over run and the rescue groups can't keep up.... i do transports most weekends and the stories i hear from the rescues that i transport for just break my heart.... for every dog that is saved and makes it into rescue or into a forever home, who knows how many don't .... and for cats, the situation is even more dire..... the op doesn't want to see them die.... either in the wild or in a shelter.... many shelters in this state still gas.... which is a horrific way for an animal to be euthanized.....
and as much as i love animals, my four in particular, i can absolutely understand trying to avoid a several hundred dollar vet bill if the injury seems to be improving under my home treatment.....
until you have walked a mile in the op's shoes, or maybe just read her threads about these kitties, in their entirety..... maybe try taking a little less critical stance.....
eta: that is a nice long list of shelters you found for the op to contact..... trouble is, only one is even remotely close to the op.... the rest are a minimum of 3 hours or more away..... maybe not such a big deal for you or for me..... but not everyone has the resources or ability to drive across the state to surrender cats to a shelter or to have a cat altered... which would actually require TWO trips or renting a motel room.....
alley, you are new in these boards and haven't been around for the long long story of the op's kitty issues.... she is in a rural area of southeast missouri, and as she states, pets are a very low priority in areas such as this one..... it is a TOTALLY different mindset than you will find in the more urban or suburban areas, particularly those NOT in the more southern states...... she is doing the best she can with the resources she has available to her....
the op could be like many of the other people in her area and just ignore the cats or shoo them off or worse, but she has a kind heart and does what she can to ease their lives..... being a foster, you have the choice to accept or decline an animal.... the op has them wandering into her yard and setting up residence..... most likely dumped by someone who didn't want to deal with the hassle of a pregnant cat.....
if you foster, then you know what it is like in the shelters these days.... they are all over run and the rescue groups can't keep up.... i do transports most weekends and the stories i hear from the rescues that i transport for just break my heart.... for every dog that is saved and makes it into rescue or into a forever home, who knows how many don't .... and for cats, the situation is even more dire..... the op doesn't want to see them die.... either in the wild or in a shelter.... many shelters in this state still gas.... which is a horrific way for an animal to be euthanized.....
and as much as i love animals, my four in particular, i can absolutely understand trying to avoid a several hundred dollar vet bill if the injury seems to be improving under my home treatment.....
until you have walked a mile in the op's shoes, or maybe just read her threads about these kitties, in their entirety..... maybe try taking a little less critical stance.....
eta: that is a nice long list of shelters you found for the op to contact..... trouble is, only one is even remotely close to the op.... the rest are a minimum of 3 hours or more away..... maybe not such a big deal for you or for me..... but not everyone has the resources or ability to drive across the state to surrender cats to a shelter or to have a cat altered... which would actually require TWO trips or renting a motel room.....
That list has people that can refer her to other services. It is someplace to start. I am in an area where we are overrun with animals but there are great people who transport and if we weren't constantly reaching out to places that we thought weren't accessible to us in the beginning, we would be back at square one. We have gone from being a kill shelter to a no kill shelter with a clinic, low cost clinic, portable spay clinic, and puppymill rescue operation. Oh, and I am not in a major city - one is fairly close by but if we didn't have the group of people that we have that didn't accept things the way they were, we would still be euthanizing animals left and right. I would also suggest contacting HSUS as their regional directors have more contacts that I ever imagined. I don't agree with their fundraising methods and PR moves, but if it gets me in contact with a vet that can help or the dept. of agriculture when they wouldn't return calls previously, then so be it. If you are really in this to fight the overpopulation of animals don't accept your fate...fight to change things. That is what I am saying. BTW, most vets would look at that cat and not charge anything if you are with a rescue. Most would at least look at it and give you options without charging anything. Cats are infection machines and although things don't look bad, they can sure get bad. But, my group doesn't make excuses. We take care of all of our animals, regardless of our funding.
It is admirable that people do what they can to help strays. I see why people don't run to the vet with every single crisis. With respect to the wound in question, it does not appear to be infected. It is not a puncture wound. It also appears to be healing. Therefore, good old fashioned first aid seems to be working fine in this instance.
However (you knew this was coming), once a kitten reaches 2 pounds, they really are big enough to get fixed. If you can't afford to get them fixed by then - you have more cats than your family can afford.
Instead of trying to just raise money to fix the ones that just show up - maybe you should consider some alternatives:
Try doing some presentations at local schools about spaying/neutering pets. This should assist in reducing the number of cats showing up at your door.
Try getting some volunteers together to haul local animals every two months to SNAP or some other spay/neuter organization (hit up local fire fighters, schools, churches).
Try to start a real non-profit organization to raise money to assist locals with spaying and neutering.
Talk to your local governing body about other options.
These are all things you can do that can make an impact without fronting all the costs yourself.
There are groups around here working on that. It's a slow process, though. I think they're making progress, but it's hard to break down the "that's the way we've always done it" barrier. I'm doing what I can in my little corner of the earth.
Here it is today
She's becoming less tolerant when I bring the camera near, though.
That list has people that can refer her to other services. It is someplace to start. I am in an area where we are overrun with animals but there are great people who transport and if we weren't constantly reaching out to places that we thought weren't accessible to us in the beginning, we would be back at square one. We have gone from being a kill shelter to a no kill shelter with a clinic, low cost clinic, portable spay clinic, and puppymill rescue operation. Oh, and I am not in a major city - one is fairly close by but if we didn't have the group of people that we have that didn't accept things the way they were, we would still be euthanizing animals left and right. I would also suggest contacting HSUS as their regional directors have more contacts that I ever imagined. I don't agree with their fundraising methods and PR moves, but if it gets me in contact with a vet that can help or the dept. of agriculture when they wouldn't return calls previously, then so be it. If you are really in this to fight the overpopulation of animals don't accept your fate...fight to change things. That is what I am saying. BTW, most vets would look at that cat and not charge anything if you are with a rescue. Most would at least look at it and give you options without charging anything. Cats are infection machines and although things don't look bad, they can sure get bad. But, my group doesn't make excuses. We take care of all of our animals, regardless of our funding.
Really, you are new to this board and you need to get to know the other posters a little better before you start preaching at them. I myself made the very same mistake when I first began posting However, you will soon realize that reputation points actually do reflect something; STL wouldn't have her rep if she were not experienced.
And while I applaud your intentions, you are being a bit presumptuous and disrespectful. I understand that you are new--and a little naive--but STL has very patiently and kindly explained many things to you [that the rest of us know to be true] and, yet, you continue to argue and insist that you know better. And, quite frankly, even though your comments are directed towards another poster, I feel the need to interject b/c even I find your comments insulting (albeit, lacking in malicious intent).
BELIEVE ME: If STL had other options, she would have taken them a long time ago. You really need to listen more before you start making assumptions that you know better than the more experienced folks on this board.
Oh, STL, that last photo of her swatting at the camera is adorable!
The wound does look a little better. It is an odd wound; I can't say that I have ever seen anything like it. It almost looks like it is trying to scab but it obviously hasn't. The white skin looks like scar tissue; I'm not sure that the hair will ever grow back there. But at least kit's health isn't in any serious danger.
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However, you will soon realize that reputation points actually do reflect something; STL wouldn't have her rep if she were not experienced. 
